She was stuffed into the first one. Once she was all buttoned up, laced up and pinned, she moved back to the show room. Just like at Saks, she stepped onto the platform and turned to see her reflection in the mirror.
Antonia was horrified. There was so much lace and beadwork on this dress that she was consumed by it. She was covered in lace from her neck to her wrists and waist, then the full skirt flared out with pearls embedded everywhere, falling down to a cathedral train behind her.
All four women saw Antonia’s revulsion at her appearance and laughed. “I guess that’s not your dream dress, huh?” Jennifer said.
Antonia didn’t even respond. She simply went back into the dressing room and was stuffed into the next one.
It was just as horrible, but this one was the opposite. The beadwork was on the bodice, coming to a choker at her neck. The skirt was covered in lace that fell in layers to the floor. She felt like a Spanish dancer.
Three stores and twenty-three dresses later and Antonia called it quits. “I can’t take anymore,” Antonia held up her hands. “It’s almost two o’clock. Please, feed me and then let’s discuss something else.”
Everyone agreed. They moved to the closest restaurant and ordered salads and fruit plates. Antonia couldn’t do it. She was starving. Instead of a salad, she ordered a cheeseburger, medium rare with lots of French fries. She expected everyone to give her a lecture on eating properly, but when the waiter left, they launched into a discussion about flowers and colors, completely shocking Antonia yet again with their lack of a comment on her unladylike choices.
With everyone making suggestions, she had no idea what anyone was talking about. Belinda thought pink was the ideal color for a spring wedding. Marsha argued for something stronger and more creative, like a soft orange. Jennifer thought that was much too brassy for spring and should only be used during fall weddings. She suggested periwinkle. But Barbara said that too many weddings were being done in periwinkle now. She thought fuchsia was a nice change.
Their meals arrived and everyone dug into their salads except for Antonia who took a huge, fortifying bite out of her burger. It was exactly what she wanted. The juice dripped down her chin and onto her fingers. ketchup and mustard to both the burger and the fries. afternoon and since she hadn’t eaten dinner last night and couldn’t stomach food this morning, she was famished.
She concentrated on adding She felt exhausted from the
After having a lively argument over the use of colors, they turned to Antonia and waited for her opinion. Swallowing the huge bite of beef as quickly as possible, Antonia wondered what the appropriate response was at this moment.
“Sorry. I’m still going with the assertion that this wedding is not going to happen,” Antonia explained.
All four women laughed.
“I’m not sure you understand how insistent Brett is about all this,” Marsha explained. “Father Bruno has already placed the bans, the church is reserved, Sal suggested that we have the reception at the house. I think a buffet dinner by the pool would be perfect, followed by a formal dance in the ballroom afterwards. What do you think?”
Antonia stopped listening after she heard that the church was already reserved. “Who reserved the church?”
Jennifer laughed. “Brett did. He called first thing this morning,” she said.
Antonia groaned pulled her burger closer, taking another fortifying bite. Things were happening too fast. Why wasn’t anyone asking her opinion about these things? Well, to be honest, they were asking her opinion. She just couldn’t deal with the decisions.
Why in the world did Brett want to marry her? Surely there was a logical explanation for all this. An explanation besides sex, she told herself. seem like the type to fall into marriage just for mind-blowing sex. conversation drift along around her as she finished her burger and most of her French fries, going over possible reasons in her mind. Each one, she discarded as too silly or not really fitting into Brett’s personality, or what she knew of it.
Brett didn’t She let the
“We’d better get out of here,” Belinda said. “Antonia’s got to get ready for her night with Brett.”
“What’s going on tonight?” Antonia asked, suspicious about the secret looks the four of them were giving each other.
“You’ll find out,” Jennifer said. “I think there’s something waiting for you at the house,” Jennifer said.
“I’m not going back to the house. In fact, I have to call Mike, my boss, and make sure I still have a job.”
Marsha shook her head sadly. “There’s no need to call. You’ve been terminated.”
Antonia fell back into her chair. “Why?”
Marsha’s eyes widened, as if Antonia should already know the answer to that question. “Officially, for lying on your application, Ms. Mazzuchelli,” Marsha said. “Unofficially, because your fiancé thought it wasn’t appropriate. What that means, I have no idea. But that’s what we were told.”
After a moment of silence, Jennifer ventured, “Are you going to tell us?” she asked hopefully.
Antonia shook her head. “No. I’m not,” she said. Then a thought struck her. “I guess my stuff has all been moved out of my apartment by now?” she asked, not believing how much of a sucker she was.
“Of course. Your clothes are at Sal’s house. Your furniture is at Brett’s.”
“Why is my furniture at Brett’s house?” she asked, feeling the noose tighten.
The four women looked confused. “Well, that’s where you’ll be living, silly.”
“It’s a gorgeous house,” Jennifer said gently, trying to ease the tension.
Antonia stood up. “Here,” she said, throwing the keys to the Porsche onto the table. “I won’t be needing these.” She ignored the four blank stares as she walked out of the restaurant. She was too angry and frustrated to care about their confusion.
With that, she left. Running, she was able to catch the bus stopping at the opposite corner. It would take her within a few blocks of Cesar’s. She could walk the rest of the way.
She got there just as Monica and Clara were walking in. They were surprised, but delighted to see Antonia.
“What are you doing here?” Monica asked. “You just disappeared last night. We were all worried about you,” she said, hugging Antonia fiercely.